DevilsAdvocate's profile

Recent Comments

11 of 12 Patriots' Balls Deflated, ESPN Reports

There is a handy calculator for doing Gay-Lussac's Law temperature vs pressure problems on line. I ran the numbers assuming a beginning temperature of 30C (303.15 Kelvin) and an ending temperature of 10C (283.15 Kelvin), and a beginning pressure of 12.5 psi.

The 12.5 psi would have to be a relative pressure though, i.e., 12.5 psi above and beyond atmospheric pressure, which is 14.7 psi. (If it were 12.5 psi absolute pressure, the ball would be compressed by the greater atmospheric pressure until it was equalized.) But to properly apply Gay-Lussac's law you have to use absolute pressure: 12.5+14.7 = 27.2 psi as the starting pressure. Which, upon moving from 30C to 10C, results in 25.4 psi absolute pressure, or 10.7 psi relative pressure, a loss of about 2 (1.8, to be precise) psi.

Much as I hate to admit it as a Colts fan, the balls being inflated at room temperature and then brought out into the cold would account for the pressure loss. The only straw left for me to grasp at is that, if that were the case, one would expect the pressure loss to be found in all 12 balls tested, not 11 out of 12.

Dan Wheldon Dies in 15-Car Crash at Las Vegas

Dan Wheldon Dies in 15-Car Crash at Las Vegas

.

It sounds like some serious safety re-design of the cars is in order.

That's been in the works for some time. Two new chassis (separate ones for ovals and road courses) are to be used in IndyCar in 2012. According to Indianapolis Star reporter Curt Cavin, "The new design protects the rear wheels to prevent launches like Wheldon and [Will] Power experienced." Not to suggest that other factors didn't contribute as well.

Big Ten Conference Reveals New Logo and Honors Football History with Division Names and Trophies

I've been seeing "Great Lakes" and "Great Plains" floated a lot in random internet discussion, which I kind of like. Geographically, it doesn't fit the divisionsperhaps even less well than "North" and "South" wouldbut it's more descriptive of the area covered by the conference overall.

Punter Arrested After Swimming While Intoxicated

If the PI statute were enforced to the letter, several people could be arrested in Broad Ripple every night (probably dozens on a Friday or Saturday). That McAfee was a) the subject of a 911 call, b) apparently swimming in the canal c) about two hours after bar closing time probably resulted in his arrest when many others aren't.

Isner Defeats Mahut in Longest Match in Tennis History

Butler Advances to National Championship

Earlier this week in the New York Times: Bobby Plump, member of the 1954 Milan team which won the Indiana state boys' high school basketball championship and served as the inspiration for Hoosiers, talks about Butler's run and the comparisons being made to both his actual high school team and the dramatized movie version. Plump played in college at Butler.

NCAA May Expand March Madness to 96 Teams

One thing I'd like about a larger tourney would be that every team would have a reasonable chance to win at least one game. As it is, a #16 seed beating a #1 is literally unheard of. Although I think 96 is probably too large--I'd go with 72 or 80. These would give #18 vs. #15, or #20 vs. #13, respectively, as the largest seed differentials in the first round, which are certainly winnable for the lower seed. 96 teams would have a #24 vs. #9 in the first round, which may be stretching it.

65 teams is just absurd, when you look at it as a 7-round tournament where only two teams play the first round and 63 teams get a first-round bye.

SportsFilter: The Thursday Huddle

The first time the Colts and Jags met this season, they scored 26 points combined.

Which is one of the things I love about the NFL. Well, all sports to some extent, but especially the NFL. Teams in the same division play twice a year, yet the two games played by the same pair of teams can be very different.

Belichick Call Questioned in Pats' Loss to Colts

Belichick Call Questioned in Pats' Loss to Colts

As a Colts fan, I'll say this: When Brady's third-down pass fell incomplete, I thought the Colts had the game in the bag: the Pats would punt, and the offense, with 2 minutes and one time out left, had a pretty good shot of getting the TD--because I've seen them do it so many times before.

When Belichick decided to go for it, then I got worried.

For the people crunching the numbers, I think they should look not (well, at least not only) at how well the Colts offense had fared that game, but also at how well the Colts offense fares running the two-minute drill on a long field when they need a touchdown, in general. You may want to revise your estimated probability of the Colts going 70-80 yards in two minutes upwards from the 29% you get from looking at this game alone.

Belichick's call said he thought highly of both the Patriots offense (to convert it) and the Colts offense (to get a TD on a long field in two minutes), and not so highly of the Patriots defense (to stop the Colts on a long field) nor of the Colts defense (to stop the conversion). In a game where the two teams had combined for 62 points so far, is that really so absurd?